Tag Archives: atkins diet

We’ve all heard that the healthiest way to diet is to cut out fat. Then again we’ve also heard that the best way to lose fat fast is to cut “carbs”. There are many die-hard fans out there of nearly every type of diet out there, but many of the most popular diets all have one thing in common: they are centered around manipulating the ratios of the macro-nutrients (a term that is not wholly useful in light of our current understanding of biochemistry, but that we’ll save for a later post), namely, carbohydrates, fats, and protein. Protein is necessary for life. A diet far too low or far too high in protein is incompatible with any organism surviving for very long. This leaves us with the option of manipulating the amount of carbohydrates and fats in the diet. Expert opinions abound where randomized control trials lack. I’ve compiled a small literature review using some of the best sources available to me to help determine whether low carbohydrate diets are better than high carbohydrate diets in the long term for the reduction and long term maintenance of body fat while taking into account general markers for health like mortality from heart attacks, stroke, or other diseases. Continue reading →